#phd applicant

[rt8815]

I'm finally, finally, starting to write the roughest of rough drafts for my statement of intent.

[smileystudies]

november 14th, 2021

there's sixteen days before my first application deadline, so I spent the morning working on the statement of purpose. the other day I did a truly productive brainstorming session about my research interests, and I'm happy with how I was able to integrate that into my draft. I also did some major restructuring; after teasing everything apart at the seams, I'm not sure quite how to pull it back together. that's a problem for future me, though. there's already no comparing this draft with what I submitted last year, so I call that a win even if I don't have any idea whether all this work is going to pay off. besides, I've really missed writing with a purpose (I'm just not getting enough of that this year) and this process has clarified just how much this the right decision. hopefully my excitement and clarity shines through in the statement. either way, I was grinning my whole way through the morning, thinking about what exciting new work a PhD will bring. if I don't get in this year, I'll try again 💪

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

As someone who is in their second grad school application cycle, I refuse to look at Reddit, the spreadsheet and gradcafe. I’m not going to dishearten myself

I did the best I could

I applied early

I reached out to PI

I polished it and was happy with what I did

The ball is in their court now

I choose my peace

But I’ll just check my emails and spams whenever I can

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

Me refreshing my emails and grad school portals hoping something would change

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

This is me towards PhD Admissions Committee

[ravingxfxbrickxwall]

Lesson #2 in Grad School Application: Fee waivers

Okay, this is not a lesson. I knew this before when I was doing my research

You need to request fee waivers to programs even if you don’t “qualify” for a fee waiver based on the fee waiver criteria on their website. Trust me, I have emailed programs that said they only offer domestic students fee waivers and they have granted me a waiver.

Or you attend their virtual talks and sessions where they waive your application fee (not always! Some do like Mount Sinai and Emory)

If you request a waiver you’ll have one of the following outcomes.

1. Approved!

They’ll immediately waive it on their website and no further action is required

They’ll waive it and give you a code to punch in with an expiry date the same day as the application OR the expiry date would be 10 days before the actual program deadline.

2. Denied!

Nothing you can do about it. It is up to you if you still want to applu

3. Additional information required

Some schools will ask for further information whether they grant you a waiver or not. For instance, You’ll need to explain how you’ll be able to support yourself in the Grad Program if you can't pay for the application fee.

Please, do not ask people on Reddit for fee waiver codes and do not give your fee waiver code. More often then not, a specific fee waiver code is linked to a specific application and it will come and bite you in the neck.